ONE in six of Wales' dairy farms have disappeared over the past three years, according to NFU Cymru.

ONE in six of Wales' dairy farms have disappeared over the past three years, according to NFU Cymru.

The figures were released at last week's Welsh Dairy Event, a showcase for the best dairy animals in Wales and beyond.

That means 20 dairy farms are going out of business every month. There are now just 2,909 dairy farms in Wales, down from 3,119 in 2002 and 3,389 in 2001, a total drop of 480 farms. And latest National Assembly for Wales figures show the value of milk and milk products from Wales have also taken a nosedive, dropping 9% from #274m in 2001 to #251m in 2002.

The figures are proof that low milk prices are leading to a mass exodus of farmers from the dairy sector.

At the show, deputy NFU Cymru president Dai Davies chaired a briefing of key players in the Welsh dairy industry. Farmers, milk co-operatives, veterinary surgeons and auctioneers discussed the crunch issue of low milk prices. Notable by their absence were representatives from the processors.

Mr Davies cut a wheel of cheese to demonstrate just what a small slice of the retail price of milk dairy farmers receive - 27%. What dairy farmers wanted to know was, he said, who was enjoying the rest of the cut?

"We have been saying for a long time that the current milk price of 17.8 pence a litre is unsustainable," said Mr Davies, a dairy farmer from Whitland, Carmarthenshire.

"Farmers are being paid less than the cost of production and this situation cannot go on. "No one can continue to make a loss indefinitely. Farmers are holding on in there, hoping that prices will improve, but they cannot wait any longer."

Milk prices have continued to fall in the past three years, dropping from 20.5p a litre in 2001 to 17.8p a litre this year. Farmers need a minimum of 19 to 20ppl to cover production costs.

Mr Davies said market conditions meant a price rise of 2p a litre was overdue.

"The pound has weakened against the euro, pushing up the Intervention Milk Price Equivalent by over 2ppl," he points out.

"International cheese prices have also risen but we want to see this converted into extra money for dairy farmers in Wales.

"More worrying still is the effect this exodus of dairy farmers is having on Welsh agriculture as a whole.

"Dairying accounts for one third of the gross agricultural output of Wales. The whole of Welsh farming, and the rest of the rural economy, is being damaged by low milk prices."

Vets, auctioneers and representatives from a milk co-operative reiterated the point.

They too depend on the profit made from the dairy cow. Farmers spread that profit around the rural economy, but if there is no profit then there is no spend.

No one can condone paying a supplier a price lower than the cost of production. Milk is a perishable product that must be sold on the open market. Farmers can't hold it back in hope of achieving a better price. The answer is simple: pay farmers a fair price for what they produce. It is not being too dramatic to say that the alternative is the disappearance of our dairy industry.